The Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported on Sunday that President Trump’s string of so-called “anti-DEIA” directives aimed at eliminating programs touching in any way on diversity, equality, inclusion, and accessibility are directly threatening the University of Hawaii’s Department of Ethnic Studies and the School of Hawaiian Knowledge.

I have a connection with Ethnic Studies because I got hired as a graduate teaching assistant in the brand new Ethnic Studies Program when it opened in 1970. I was a TA for Dr. Ed Beechert, a professor of Labor History who was part of the first cohort of Ethnic Studies faculty. The program, now a department, celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2020.

But the Star-Advertiser story failed to note that another program in the cross-hairs of the Trump assault is the University of Hawaii’s Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary this week.

Considering that 60% of the students attending the University of Hawaii at Manoa are women, it’s an important omission.

The department traces its roots back to the Women’s Studies Program, which launched in 1975, and was elevated to Departmental status in 2012. Women’s Studies celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2016, when my wife, Professor Meda Chesney-Lind, was serving as chair. The department adopted its current name in 2021.

It’s important to understand the reason that these programs are feeling political heat at the moment. It’s because President Trump has enabled his billionare pal, Elon Musk, to destroy programs, eliminate jobs, and take aim at words and ideas that Trump believes should not be spoken or spoken about. All without planning, without due process, and without regard for rights protected by the very constitution that Trump, lying through his teeth, swore to protect and defend just over a month but now violates routinely without a moment’s hesitation.

No, I don’t think I’m overstating things.

Early this month, a list of “forbidden words” that are enough to put federal programs onto Trump’s target list was published, and is reprinted below. Look at the long list of words Trump and Musk would banish from the goverment, and from the country. Words like advocate, biased, cultural heritage, discrimination, equality, ethnicity, female and females, women, and on and on.

Here’s the list of words that are apparently red flags to the Trump administration.

activism
activists
advocacy
advocate
advocates
barrier
barriers
biased
biased toward
biases
biases towards
bipoc
black and latinx
community diversity
community equity
cultural differences
cultural heritage
culturally responsive
disabilities
disability
discriminated
discrimination
discriminatory
diverse backgrounds
diverse communities
diverse community
diverse group
diverse groups
diversified
diversify
diversifying
diversity and inclusion
diversity equity
enhance the diversity
enhancing diversity
equal opportunity
equality
equitable
equity
ethnicity
excluded
female
females
fostering inclusivity
gender
gender diversity
genders
hate speech
hispanic minority
historically
implicit bias
implicit biases
inclusion
inclusive
inclusiveness
inclusivity
increase diversity
increase the diversity
indigenous community
inequalities
inequality
inequitable
inequities
institutional
lgbt
marginalize
marginalized
minorities
minority
multicultural
polarization
political
prejudice
privileges
promoting diversity
race and ethnicity
racial
racial diversity
racial inequality
racial justice
racially
racism
sense of belonging
sexual preferences
social justice
sociocultural
socioeconomic
status
stereotypes
systemic
trauma
under appreciated
under represented
under served
underrepresentation
underrepresented
underserved
undervalued
victim
women
women and underrepresented